Poppy had a bit of a rough start to her life.
She was placed in the pound, injured, fearful & anxious. The pound wasn’t the right place for Poppy, and was making her even more fearful and withdrawn. When We Love Dogs heard about Poppy, we adopted her to give her a chance, and the time to flourish in a foster home where she could be more comfortable.
We were grateful to find an amazing foster for her, in a family with children and an older dog, where she spent three weeks settling and learning to trust a little more.
The foster had long term holiday plans which could not be changed, so Poppy came to stay with one of our volunteers. The original plan was that Poppy would go back to her foster family until a new home was found As it turned out, the volunteer’s dog absolutely fell in love with Poppy, as did her husband and she herself. We continued to advertise Poppy in the hopes that an application would come in from someone with children and an active lifestyle, well that just did not happen….
Poppy had already found her forever home, and was adopted!
Since then, Poppy’s new family has been getting used to having a rascally puppy in the home again. Although Poppy is 10 months, she is still a puppy, and full of curiosity and fun. She keeps them on their toes and smiling, and sometimes face-palming with her antics, but they are so grateful for her. They keep thick blankets on the dining table to protect it, because she likes to climb up there when they are not home. All the lower shelves in the back porch are empty; everything has been moved up high where she can’t reach. She has chewed out the pockets of three jackets to get treats left there, and she has ripped up a couple of dog beds. These are the realities of taking on a puppy!
Her new family had to crate her at night because she was not house trained, Poppy took some time to get used to the crate. The first night she cried and howled, so her new mum sat next to the crate for about half an hour until she settled, and went to sleep, then she was fine. Then it was up every couple of hours to the toilet, and then settling her back to bed. They lost some sleep, but the time put in was so worth it. She is so much more confident now, and she goes into her crate happily and off to sleep with no problems, and sleeps right through the night.
Poppy and their 3-year-old lab are best mates, they play and sleep together, and Poppy is learning heaps from watching the older dog. Already she knows to settle nicely in the back of the car and wait for the signal before jumping out, and she is learning to walk nicely on the leash next to her new friend.
Poppy is also teaching the other dog, as she has a rock-solid recall, and his can be a bit hit and miss, depending on the distraction. He has begun to realise there is a little competition for the treat when they are called and he has sharpened up his act.
We are so glad that Poppy has found the forever home that she absolutely deserves. It is so important to find the right home for every dog, to give them every chance of success with their new family. Being able to help dogs like Poppy are why we keep going, and are passionate about what we do.
